Joe Scarborough's "Morning Joe" program erupted into a war of words Thursday during an exchange over President Obama's dominantly male cabinet nominations.

Scarborough and his MSNBC co-host Mika Brzezinski tussled over criticism of Obama for selecting one white man after another for top Cabinet positions for his second term. Scarborough said a Republican would face far more outrage; Brzezinski defended Obama, who she said had placed many women in government and advanced policies that benefited women.

Then, Scarborough joked about the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 — which extended women's right to sue employers for unequal compensation — a final straw for Brzezinski.

"I'm actually trying to ignore the — I'm afraid to use the word, because it will not be good for you, because you're being chauvinistic right now," she said. "It's not funny."

Scarborough balked at the statement.

"You're calling the wrong guy a chauvinist," he said

But as Brzezinski laughed and began turning away, he snapped his fingers for her attention.

"Stop, let me help you," she said.

"No!" he responded. "Let me help you. You really, knowing me and seeing me work around here for five years, you want to call me a chauvinist on television?"

"I said the way you're acting is chauvinistic, especially the way you were handling this conversation," she said. "It's not funny."